1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structure of a front part of a vehicle body that is designed to provide enhanced safety to a pedestrian in the event of a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a conventionally known structure of this kind is found in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-1149, in which a bumper provided at the front of a vehicle body includes a bumper face, a foam material which serves as a shock-absorbing material, and a bumper reinforcement. To provide a sufficient shock-absorbing effect in the event of a collision between the vehicle and a pedestrian with this structure, it has been necessary to construct the bumper such that the bumper face would easily deform on impact. When the bumper is so constructed, however, there has been a problem that it could be deformed even by a minor contact.
To provide a solution to the aforementioned problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-72248 proposes an air bag system for a vehicle.
This system includes an air bag accommodated in a front bumper and a sensor (ultrasonic sensor) for detecting obstacles like a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle, whereby the system predicts the risk of collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian based on sensing signals output from the ultrasonic sensor and a driving condition sensor and causes the air bag in the front bumper to inflate in the running direction of the vehicle when a collision with the pedestrian has been predicted to prevent direct contact between the vehicle and the pedestrian and thereby achieve the safety of the pedestrian.
Although the aforementioned conventional system is advantageous in that it can provide increased safety of the pedestrian, it involves a complex construction due to the need for such obstacle sensing means as the ultrasonic sensor as well as the air bag. In addition, the system is associated with the possibility of such malfunction that the air bag could unexpectedly inflate even when no collision has actually taken place.
In view of the aforementioned problems, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple and trouble-free structure of a front part of a vehicle body comprising a bumper which is associated with a lateral supporting member extending in the direction of vehicle width and an energy-absorbing member located ahead of the lateral supporting member, and a projecting part which is provided at a lower part of the bumper in such a manner that a forward end of the projecting part juts out more frontward than the lateral supporting member, whereby the projecting part sweeps legs of a pedestrian in the event of a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian, causing the pedestrian to be thrown over toward the vehicle, and after the energy-absorbing member has absorbed impact energy exerted on the legs, the pedestrian is caused to drop onto the top of a hood and protected from secondary damage.
To accomplish the above object, the invention provides a structure of a front part of a vehicle body in which a bumper is provided at a lower front position of a hood at the front of the vehicle, the structure comprising a lateral supporting member provided in the front part of the vehicle body and extending in the direction of vehicle width, an energy-absorbing member provided ahead of the lateral supporting member, and a projecting part provided at a lower part of the bumper in such a manner that a forward end of the projecting part juts out (protrudes) more frontward than the lateral supporting member.
Since the energy-absorbing member is provided ahead of the lateral supporting member and the projecting part is provided at the lower part of the bumper with the forward end of the projecting part jutting out more frontward than the lateral supporting member in the aforementioned structure, the projecting part first sweeps the pedestrian by parts of his or her legs lower than the knees in the event of a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian, and after the energy-absorbing member has absorbed impact energy exerted on the legs of the pedestrian who is thrown over toward the vehicle, the pedestrian is caused to drop onto the top of the hood. Consequently, there is produced such an advantageous effect that the pedestrian can be protected from secondary damage.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.